Stamp or label affixing machine.



E. JONES. STAMP 0B LABEL AFFIXING MACHINE.

I APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2-7, 1911.

1,019,479. Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ltfi WW 6 1 91922. 71 mamymf K [54 21 d7 as? WW E. R. JONES. STAMP OR LABEL APPIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27, 1911.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co wasnmu-row. n c.

E. R. JONES. STAMP 0R LABEL AFFIXING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27, 1911.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

EDWARD R. JONES, OF BALTIMORE, llIARYLANI).

STAMP OR LABEL AFFIXING MACHINE.

To all whom it" may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD R. J ONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp or Label Aflixing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved stamp or label affixing machine.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved machine for holding a number of stamps or labels in a rolled strip and to feed the latter from the roll onto successive platen members whereupon the foremost stamp or label will be clamped to the platen member and then out from the strip,--the cut-ofi' stamp or label thereupon being moistened and then affixed to the article.

The invention consists in the improved means and combination of devices for carrying out the operations herein set forth.

With the above and other objects in view the accompanying drawings illustrate the invention wherein,

Figure 1, shows a complete side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2, shows a vertical sectional elevation through the machine,- the section being taken on the line 22 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3, shows the machine in front elevation. Fig. 1, shows the same in rear elevation as viewed on the line 4- 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5, is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional elevation through the outer stationary frame,the inner movable die-carrying frame and the rotatable platen block. Fig; 6, is a central vertical cross-sectional elevation on the line 66 of Fig. 5, and looking in a direction toward the reel. Fig. 7, is a top plan view of the stamp or label strip clamp. Fig. 8, is a side elevation of the same and the device that actuates it as viewed on the line 88 of Fig. '1'. Fig. 9, is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 10, is a detail of one of the platen members in the lowered position, as when affixing a stamp or label to a package or article, and shows the clamping jaws in the released position to free the stamp or label from the platen. Fig. 11, is a detail view of the guide device that forms a stop for and then holds the platen block so that the lowermost platen will be parallel with the base during the application of the stamp or label. Fig. 12, is a perspective detail of one of the movable platen clamp Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 27, 1911.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

Serial No. 662,549.

carriers. Fig. 13, is a detail side elevation of a portion of the platen block, and shows one of the platens and platen clamps engaging the stamp or label strip and also shows the strip clamp that engages the free end of the strip and lays it agalnst the next platen in readiness to be clamped by the clamps of the latter, and Fig. 14:, shows a detail in sectional plan of one wall each of the inner and outer frames and shows the guide bar stop.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1, designates an outer frame comprising the side walls, 2, and, 8, respectively, and having a top, a, with a perforation therein which receives a bushing or sleeve, 5. The opposite side walls of the outer frame are each provided with a vertical slot,the slot in wall 2, being designated, 6, while that in wall, 3, is designated, 7, and both slots are located in a vertical line that extends centrally through the bushing or sleeve, 5.

An inner movable frame, 8, has position between the side walls, 2, and, 3, of the outer. frame, as clearly seen in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, and said inner frame is provided with a tubular projection, 9, that extends vertically above its upper side and which passes freely through the tubular sleeve, 5, of the outer frame. The tubular projection, 9, has vertical registering slots, 10, diametrically opposite each other so that a pin, 11, may be projected through one side of the bushing or sleeve, then through one slot of the tubular projection, then across and through the other slot and out through the bushing at the opposite side. By means of this construction the pin will hold the tubular projection of the inner frame in place in the bushing or sleeve and while it will permit the said tube to move vertically in said sleeve it will prevent the same from rotation.

A spiral spring, 18, is inserted in the tube, 9, in a compressed condition,-the lower end of the spring seating on the pin, 11, and the upper end thereof pressing against the bot tom side of a block, 19, that is rigidly se which the depression of the tube may be conveniently effected by the hand.

The inner frame has side walls, 12, and, 13, respectively and each side wall has a horizontal slot, 14, the inner ends of which form bearings for the trunnions, 15, at the opposite sides of a rotary platen block, 16. By reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 6, it will be noted that the extreme outer ends, 17 of the trunnions are reduced and that said reduced ends project into the slots, 6, and, 7, in the side walls of the outer frame and by this means the trunnions are prevented from horizontal movement in the slots, 14.

The platen block or platen carrier which is best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, comprises a central hub part, 22, and spaced-apart par allel side plates, 23, and, 24, respectively which project outwardly from the hub and leave an annular space about the hub and between said side plates. The side plates of the platen block are provided with corner notches, 25, shown best in Figs. 5 and 13, and by this means a plurality of projecting portions, 26, are formed, In the present instance there are four of such projecting portions as'clearly seen in Fig. 5 and each portion carries afiat platen or plate, 27. As the construction of one platen and the devices that coact therewith is the same as in all the other platens a description of one will apply to all four. Each platen has a stem, 28, which is rigid therewith andwhich extends inwardly into the annular space and toward the hub, 22. These stems have no independent movement and merely turn as the entire platen block turns on its trunnions. The function however of the said stems is to provide a guide for a cross-bar, 29, which has a central perforation, 30, through which the stem passes. The oppo site ends, 31, of this cross-bar, 29, project through suitable slots, 32, in the walls, 23, and, 24, of the platen block. A detail of this crossbar, 29, is shown in Fig. 12, of the drawing which is inverted with respect to the position it has when operated to release a stamp or label as will presently be explained. It will be noted that the ends, 31, of the cross-bar are bifurcated and that each of them carries a platen clamp-arm, 33, which is sustained by a pintle, 34, that eX- tends between said bifurcated arms, 31. The outer free end of each clamp arm has a laterally-turned hook, 35, which projects toward the outer packing, 36, which forms a cushion surface for the platen and clamps the opposite side edges of the stamp or label, 37 to hold the same against the platen, gummed surface outermost. At the inner side, the platen, 27, is provided at opposite sides with a pin, 38, the inner ends of which pins project between the bifurcated ends, 31, of the cross bar, 29, and terminate adjacent to a shoulder, 39, on the inner ends of the clamp arms. These pins, 33, serve as aposi tive means for moving the clamp arms to the clamping position when a stamp or label is laid against the platen as will presently be more fully explained.

The inner end face of the clamping arms, 33, has a slight V-shaped lug, 40, and is also provided with an outwardly-extending trip lug, 41, and a leaf spring plate, 42, is secured to the crossbar, 29, and has a hook-end, 43, that engages one face or the other of the V-shaped lug, 40, to hold the arm either in the clamped position as shown in Fig. 6, or in the wide open position shown in Fig. 10.

A spiral spring, 44, encircles the stem, 28, of the platen and is compressed between the rigid platen plate, 27, and the movable crossbar, 29, thus normally pushing the bar away from the platen plate and toward the hub of the platen block, 16.

By reference to Figs. 5, 6 and 10, it will be seen that at the inner side of the cross bar, 29, I provide a pair of presser fingers, 45, which latter are carried by and project from a rock shaft, 46, whose opposite ends have bearing in the walls or side plates, 23, and, 24, of the platen block. One end of this rock shaft is provided with a cranklike arm, 47, by which the shaft may be rocked and thereby move or swing the fingers so as to press the cross-bar toward the platen plate by compressing the spiral spring, 44, at the outer side of the said crossbar. This operation takes place when the strip of stamps or labels has been laid against the platen and it is desired to move the clamp-arm hooks, 35, outwardly to clamp the stamp or label against the platen, as will hereinafter be explained. A spring, 48, is so connected to the rock shaft, 46, as to normally keep the fingers, 45, pressed outwardly against the cross-bar, 29, but not with suiticient force to overcome the action of the spiral spring, 44.

By reference to 3, 4, 6 and 11 of the drawings, it will be seen that in connection with each platen and its associated devices, there is provided a horizontally-projecting pin, 50. These pins are rigid wit-h and proj ect to one side of the platen block and their positions with respect to each other are such that their ends will all turn through a common circular path when the platen block is rotated intermittently to present the platens in succession as the tubular stem, 9. and inner frame, 8, are moved vertically. These pins, 50, serve in connection with a stationary means on the frame to stop the platen block so that the lowermost platen will have a position parallel with the surface on which the machine rests.

Referring to Figs. 3, 4, 6, 11 and 14 it will be seen that a vertical guide bar, 51, is sustained from the top, 4, and the side wall, 2, of the outer frame,the means for supporting the bar comprising a bar, 52, which is secured to the wall, 2, in front of the wall, 12, of the inner frame and which has an offset, 53, that permits the wall, 12, of the inner frame to project between the guide bar, 51, and the wall, 2, of the outer frame. The top of the inner frame is provided with a slot or notch through which the upper end of the guide bar projects so the latter may be secured at its upper end to the top of the outer frame bvmeans of a screw, 54. The guide bar, 51, has a notch, 55, at one side as clearly seen in Figs. 6 and 11, and the location of this notch is such that the ends of stems, 50, may successively pass therethrough and enter the guide during the upward movement of the inner frame and platen block as will presently more clearly appear.

The trunnion, 15, which sustains the platen block in the side wall, 13, of the inner frame projects across the space between said wall and the side wall, 3, of the outer frame,the latter wall being provided with a vertical slot, 7, as hereinbefore described. Between these two walls, 3, and, 13, said trunnion carries a ratchet wheel, 56, which is rigidly secured to the trunnion and revolves only with the trunnion and the rotary platen block. It will be understood by reference to Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawings that if the tubular stem, 9, and the inner frame are depressed that the trunnions, 15, will move down vertically in the slots, 6, and, 7, in the outer frame and carry the ratchet wheel, 56, with them. Now by referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 6, it will be seen that the side wall, 3, 0f the outer frame has a pawl, 57, that projects through a slot, 58, in said wall, 3, and that said pawl has abeveled upper surface, 59. A spring, 60, on the outside of the wall, 3, serves to yieldingly press the same inwardly through the slot. This pawl, 57, has position directly beneath the horizontal arm of the ratchet wheel, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, so that when the ratchet wheel moves down with the inner frame said horizontal arm of the ratchet wheel will ride over the beveled surface, 59, of the pawl and the latter will be pressed outwardly against the action of the spring, 60, and allow the ratchet wheel to pass. During this movement the ratchet wheel cannot turn because it is rigid with the trunnions and the platen block and the latter is held from turning because of one of the pins, 50, is held in the guide bar, 51, and can only move vertically toward the lower open end of the said guide bar. On the return movement however of the inner frame, the lower edge of pawl, 57, will strike the upper side of the arm on the ratchet wheel, 56, and the latter must make a quarter turn to ride over the pawl,the spring, 18, in the tubular stem being the means to raise the inner frame. In making this quarter turn one of the pins, 50, will pass out the lower end of the guide bar, 51, while the next pin will enter through slot, 55, and thus further rotation of the ratchet wheel and the connected parts will be prevented.

The two side walls, 2, and, 3, of the outer frame have rearwardly-projecting extensions, 61, which form bracket bearings for a horizontal shaft, 62, on which a reel, 63, is mounted. One of these rear extensions has a depending arm, 64, with a slot, 65, therein and through which latter a pawl, 66, projects. This pawl has a beveled upper surface, 67, and is normally projected through the slot by means of a flat spring plate, 68, on the outer side of the arms, as clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 9.

The inner movable frame has horizontally-projecting arms 69, and, 70, respectively and between these arms and pivotally attached thereto at, 71, is a normally horizontal U-shaped frame which latter comprises side bars, 72, and, 73, and a cross-bar, 74. This latter, or cross-bar, 74, has a horizontal slot, 75, extending longitudinally therein and both the upper and lower portions of this slotted bar are provided with registering perforations, 76, as shown in Fig. 8.

A supplemental U-frame has arms, 77, and, 78, and across-bar, 79, and the arm, 77, is pivotally connected to the inner side of arm, 72, while arm, 78, is pivotally connected to and at the inner side of arm, 73. The cross-bar, 79, is provided with sharp downwardly-extending pins, 80, which register with and enter the perforations, 7 6, in the cross bar, 74, also as seen in Fig. 8.

The extreme end of arm, 72, has a flat down-turned lug, 81, the lower edge, 82, of which is beveled, as shown in Fig. 9. Then in the normal position as shown in Fig. l, the beveled edge, 82, of lug, 81, has position directly over the inclined face, 67, of pawl, 66, so that when the inner frame and both U-shaped frames are lowered, as they are during the application of a stamp or label to a package, the lug, 81, will press the pawl, 66, outwardly and all of said frames will remain in a horizontal position while they pass below the said pawl,the latter springing back over the top of the pawl as the latter passes.

The arm, 77, of the supplemental U-frame which is pivotally connected to arm, 72, is also provided at its extreme end with a downwardly-inclined lug, 83, which latter is slightly higher than the lug, 8l,this lug, 83, also normally has position over the pawl, 66, and passes the latter on its downward stroke.

A stop plate, 84, projects from horizontal arm, 69, beneath the arm, 72, and supports the inner part of the U-shaped frame in a horizontal position while a spring, 85, serves to normally keep the arm, 72, down on the plate, 84.

A spring, 86, is carried on arm, 73, of the U-shaped frame and has one end, 87, pressing on top of the arm, 78, of the supplemental frame so as to normally keep the crossbar, 79, seated on cross-bar, 74, with the pins, 80, projecting into the perfora tions in the latter bar.

A yielding arm, 88, is mounted on the arm, 72, of the U-shaped frame, (see Figs. 2 and 13) and the free-end, 89, of this arm projects toward and terminates in close proximity to the platen-faces on which the stamps or labels are to be placed.

The stamps or labels are wound in a strip form on the reel 63, and are run off from the under side of the roll as shown in Fig. 5, and passed through the slot, 75, in the cross-bar, 74; from the said cross-bar the strip is then carried up against the cushioned face of the platen that has position in front of the roll and the free end, 89, of the yielding arm, 88, presses the strip againstthe platen. The hooks, 35, of the clamp arms, 33, then move outwardly as the inner frame is depressed,-this being accomplished by the crank-arm, 47, shown in Fig. 2, being swung back by coming in contact with a spring-pressed pawl, 90, that is carried on the side wall, 3, of the outer stationary frame, the swinging movement of the crank arms, 47, rocking the shaft, 46, and moving the fingers, 45, so as to press the cross-bar, 29, toward the platen against the action of spiral spring, 44, and thus projecting the clamp arms, 33, and then by bringing the pins, 38, in contact with shoulders, 39, swing the hooks, 35, over the face of the platen and clamping the strip against the latter. The downward movement of the inner frame is continued until the lowermost platen comes in contact with the surface on which the machine rests whereupon pressure will be removed from knob, 21, and the frame allowed to return. During this return movement several operations take place, to-wit; the platen block and all the platens are revolved by means of the ratchet wheel, 56, by contact with pawl, 57, being given a quarter turn so as to move each platen a quarter of a revolution. Simultaneously with the movement of the platens or nearly so, the lug, 83, on arm, 77, will contact with pawl, 66, and the inner U-frame will be first tilted so as to raise cross bar, 79, and withdraw the pins, 80, from the strip of stamps or labels that has been passed through the slot, 75, in bar, 74 as seen in broken lines in Fig. 8. Immediately after the movement of the pins, 80, the lug, 81, will contact with pawl, 66, and as the latter will not give to allow the lug,

81 to pass, the outer U-shaped frame will tilt up, as shown in Fig. 13, and while moving up, the platen will draw the strip through the slot in bar, 74, and this forward movement of the strip will continue until the platen that just previously had a vertical position, moves to the upper horizontal position. At this moment the inner movable frame will not have made its complete upward stroke but the pin, 50, will have passed into the notch, 55, in the guide bar, 51, which will prevent further rotation of the platens but will still allow the platens to have a slight vertical movement with the inner frame.

By reference to Fig. 4, it will be noted that the walls, 2, and, 3, of the outer frame carry vertically-extending pivoted arms, 91, that are pressed in one direction by springs, 92, as seen in Fig. 5. Each of these arms carries a horizontally-projecting cutterblade, 93. The rear end of each platen also has a cutter blade, 94, the shearing edge of which will pass up at the side of the horizontal blades, 93, as the inner frame and platen block complete their upward stroke, consequently as at that moment, the strip of stamps or labels is stretched from the uppermost platen down to the cross-bar of the inclined U-shaped frames the final upward movement of the platen will cause the cutters to sever the strip between adjacent stamps or labels and immediately thereafter, the U-shaped frames will drop to the normal horizontal position and drag the cutend of the strip back over the vertical face of the next platen,the end, 89, of the spring or yielding arm, 88, holding the said free end of the strip against the platen until the hooks, 35, of the clamps, 33, engage the opposite edges to the strip to hold the same in place. In order to insure that the cutting of the strip will be positive I have provided each platen end with a yielding stripsupport, 95, which, as will be seen by ref erence to Fig. 5, is lightly spaced from the horizontal cutters and projects on the outer side of the latter during the cutting operation. The operation of depressing and then allowing the inner frame to rise is repeated until all the platens have been supplied with a stamp or label,it being understood that the stamps or labels are presented and clamped against the platens with the face against the platen and the gummed surface outermost. Now presuming two of the platens to be provided with stamps or labels,the two including the upper horizontal platen and the intermediate vertical platen at the left hand side is viewed in Figs. 2 and 5, on the next downward stroke of the inner frame and platens the vertical platen will wipe over the moistener, 96, which is supported adjacent to the base so that moisture will be transferred onto the gummed surface of the stamp or label as the platen is turned from the vertical to the lower horizontal position. At this time it will be presumed that three platens are provided with stamps and that the stamp on the lowermost platen has been moistened. The parts would now be in the elevated position shown in Figs. 2, 5, 6 and 10 of the drawings. To apply the stamp or label that is clamped to the lowermost horizontal platen,-the gummed surface of which has been moistened, the tubular stem, 9, will now be depressed which will cause the inner frame and the platen block with all the platens to move downwardly together in a vertical direction.

At the bottom the machine has a rectangular base plate, 97, with a central rectangular opening therein. This base plate is secured to the side walls, 2, and, 3, of the outer frame by means of suitable upwardlyextending lugs, 98. At one side, the base carries an upwardly-extending arm, 99, while at the opposite side there is provided another upwardly-projecting arm, 100. The space between these arms is sufficient to allow the lower platen and the hook-ends of the clamping arms, 33, to pass downwardly between them, but the laterally-projecting trip lugs, 41, above the pivot, 34, of the clamp arms will not pass between said arms, 99, and, 100, but will impinge on the top edges of said arms as clearly shown in Fig. 10, and consequently any further downward movement of the platen and clamp arms will cause the hooks, 35, of the latter to be swung outwardly from the platen and thus release the stamp or label on the platen. During the release movement of the clamps the crank arm, 47, (see Figs. 2 and 4) will contact with an upwardly-extending arm, 101, that has a beveled or cam face, 102, and by contact with this arm the crank arm, 47, will be swung slightly and thereby slightly rock the shaft, 46, and by moving fingers, 45, will press the cross-bar, 29, toward the platen and thereby move the hook-ends of the clamping arms, 38, slightly away from the platen so said ends may readily be swung away from the edge of the stamp or label. After the stamp or label has been pressed against the package or surface secured thereto, the spring, 18, in the tubular stem will raise the parts, thus causing the platen block to be partially revolved; draw the strip from the roll; apply it to the platen merely to aid in keeping the inner frame in proper relation to the outer frame during its vertical movements.

lVhile in the specification the expression stamp or label has been used it is to be understood that the machine may be utilized for applying things other than strictly stamps or labels and the terms employed are used with this understanding. V

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable vertically in said outer frame; a platen carrier mounted on the inner frame and having a plurality of platens thereon; means for partially rotating the platen carrier as the inner frame is moved in a vertical direction and means for feeding a stamp to one platen at a time at each rotation.

2. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable vertically in said outer frame; a platen carrier rotatably mounted in the inner frame and movable vertically therewith and having a plurality of platens; clamp devices for each platen on the carrier; means for partially rotating the platen carrier as the inner frame is moved in a vertical direction and means for feeding stamps to the platens.

3. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable vertically in said outer frame; a platen carrier rotatably mounted in the inner frame and having a plurality of platens; means for partially rotating the carrier; a roll containing" a strip; means for guiding the strip toward the path through which the platens rotate; means movable with each platen for clamping the strip against the latter and means for cutting the strip between two platens.

4. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable vertically in said outer frame; a platen carrier rotatably mounted in the inner frame and having a plurality of platens; means for partially rotating the carrier; a roll containing a strip; means for guiding the strip toward the path through which the-platens rotate; means movable with each platen-for clamp ing the strip against the latter; cutters carried by the outer frame and a cutter at one end of each platen whereby the vertical movement of the inner frame and platen carrier will bring the cutters and strips together and cut the latter.

5. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable vertically in said outer frame; a platen carrier rotatably mounted in the inner frame and having a plurality of platens; means for partially rotating the carrier; a roll containing a strip; cutters carried by the outer frame; a cutter movable with each plate; a movable strip guide to coact with the platens in succession and means for moving the said guide to present the strip to one platen after it has been cut from that portion left on the platen in advance.

6. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame; means for sustaining the inner frame so it may have vertical movement with respect to the outer frame; a plat-en carrier mounted in the inner frame and having a plurality of platens; clamping means coacting with each platen; means coacting between the carrier and the outer frame for partially rotating the carrier as the latter and the inner frame move vertically in one direction and means for feeding the stamps to the platens successively to be clamped thereon.

7. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame; means for yieldingly holding the inner frame in an elevated position in the outer frame; a platen carrier rotatably mounted in the inner frame and having a plurality of platens; clamp-arms at the edges of each platen; means for partially rotating the platen carrier; means for feeding a strip to the clamp of each platen in succession; means for cutting the strip between adjacent platens and means for moistening the clamped pieces on each platen.

S. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable with respect to the outer frame; a platen carrier rotatably mounted in said inner frame and having a plurality of platens; clamps pivotally sustained at opposite sides of each platen; means movable with the platen carrier for holding the clamps in the clamped position; means for rotating the carrier; means for feeding stamps to the clamps of each platen and means for moistening one surface of the clamped strips.

9. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable with respect to the outer frame; a platen carrier movably mounted in said inner frame and having a plurality of platens; a cross-bar yieldingly sustained adjacent each platen; a clamparm pivotally carried at each end of the cross bar,said arms having hook ends to project over the edges of the platen; means for partially-rotating the carrier; means for feeding stamps to the platens in succession; means for moistening one surface of the stamps and means for actuating the clamp-arms to release the stamps.

10. The combination with an outer frame having a vertical guideway at each side, of an inner frame movable vertically in the outer frame; a platen carrier having trunnions which project through the inner frame and enter the guideways in the sides of the outer frame,-said carrier having a plurality of platens; clamping means for each platen; a cutter blade at one end of each platen; a cutter carried by the outer frame; means for feeding a strip to the platens in succession and means on the outer frame for actuating the clamps in succession.

11. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable vertically in said outer frame; a platen carrier having a plurality of platens thereon; means for partially rotating the platen carrier as the inner frame is moved in a vertical direction; a reel for carrying a strip of stamps; a pivoted strip guide between the reel and platen carrier to hold the end of the strip and present it to the platens and means for clamping the strip to the platens in succession.

12. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame having a tubular stem projecting upwardly through the outer frame; means for yieldingly holding the inner frame in an elevated position; a platen carrier rotatably mounted in the inner frame and having a plurality of platens; means for moving the platen carrier through a partial rotation on each stroke of the inner frame in one direction; means for feeding stamps to the platens while the carrier is being rotated and means for moistening one surface of the stamps.

13. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable vertically in said outer frame; a platen carrier mounted on the inner frame and having a plurality of platens thereon; means for partially rotating the platen carrier as the inner frame is moved in a vertical direction; a guide bar rigid with respect to the outer frame and having a vertical guideway thereon; means on the platen carrier for engaging the said guideway and means for feeding stamps t0 the platens in succession.

let. The combination with an outer frame, of an inner frame movable vertically in said outer frame; a platen carrier mounted on the inner frame and having a plurality of platens thereon; means for partially rotating the platen carrier as the inner frame is moved in a vertical direction; a reel for holding stamps in a strip; a strip guide pivotally mounted between the reel and the platen carrier said strip guide having a slotted bar through which the strip passes and a grip bar to engage the strip as it passes through the slotted bar.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD R. JONES.

Vitnesses:

G. FERD. Voer, CHAS. B. MANN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

